Gift Guide: Kids Play with Toys, So Kids Need to Clean Up Their Toys, Right? #organization #pley #spon

Disclosure: I was compensated to write this post. The views expressed in this post are my own. Affiliate links are included in this post.

I have a high tolerance for mess. I can walk past a sink of dirty dishes and not bat an eyelid. I know that I will deal with the dishes eventually. Seeing the sink of dishes doesn’t compel me to drop what I am doing and clean up. Nope. I walk right on by. I’m the same way with the kids’ toys.

My house has always been toy central. Toys in the bedrooms. Toys in the family room. Toys at the bottom of the staircase. Toys in every nook and cranny of my home. Every so often the level of mess will reach a point where even I CANNOT stand the mess. But my threshold for mess is very high.

How Do You Get Your Kids To Tidy Their Toys?

About every two or three months, I do what I call the “Cyclone Clean Up.” The Cyclone Clean Up of Toys can take an afternoon or days at a time. The Cyclone Clean Up of Toys can cover one room or the entire house. My family knows when I am on the warpath. They know that once I decide that the toys need to be organized that the only option is to pitch in. They k now I don’t care whether the kids are excited about cleaning up or not as I know I am NOT excited about cleaning up and organizing the toys. But…and here’s the funny part…my kids and husband are actually pretty good natured and reasonable about the Cyclone Clean Up of Toys. They realize that they do not live in a house where they have to clean up their toys every evening or every week or even every month, but come what may they need to participate in the Cyclone Clean Up of Toys!

Kids Play With Toys So Kids Need to Clean Up the Toys, Right?

Since I don’t require my kids to do daily, weekly, or even monthly clean ups of their toys, the kids know that when we do the Cyclone Clean Up of Toys that I need ALL hands on deck. I need every man, woman, and child to put down the toy, game, or book…to turn off the TV or game system…to come in from outside…and participate in the Cyclone Clean Up of Toys.

I usually divide the Cyclone Clean Up of Toys in to 5 stages. I need the kids to help with each stage. My husband joins in too. I tell the kids that many hands make light work. I’m all about throwing around old adages to get the kids motivated!

Cyclone Clean Up of Toys

Here’s how the Cyclone Clean Up of Toys works for my family:

Gather ALL family members in the room you are planning to clean up and organize.

Give every family member ONE clean up job. Not two jobs. Not a multi part list of instructions. I say simply: “Child #1, please put all the Legos in that large plastic tote. Child #2, please put all the stuffed animals in the toy box. Child #3, please put all the dress up clothes in the costume chest.”

When each person has completed their SINGLE task, I will assign them another small task to be completed.

When most of the toys are off the floor, I will place all pieces of paper, wrappers, and broken toys in a garbage bag.

When the room looks clear, I will vacuum floor and then it is time to tackle the next room.

The savings in plastic alone from reduced purchases amounts to at least 240 lbs fewer C02 emissions per year per Pley member. And while the Pley business model relies heavily on shipping, Pley usually take advantage of trucks already on the road. If anything, our shipments are smaller than the typical Amazon package for the same LEGO set (Pley re-package them in smaller bags). Also, Pley helps reduce CO2 emissions from cars going to malls/stores to buy toys.